All Souls Bangor

Just before his ascension, Jesus tells the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit.  Jesus also tells them that after the Spirit has come, they will be his witnesses.   After his ascension the disciples then devoted themselves to prayer.  In this way, they waited for, welcomed, and even sought the promised Spirit.  During this time of isolation we would be well served by doing the same.  We ought to be inviting a fresh encounter of God's Holy Spirit that we might be guided and equipped to serve him in a changing world.

The gospel of Mark offers a unique look at the Resurrection.  It is one that leads us to the mystery of an empty tomb and then leaves us with a promise.  The promise is that he who is risen goes before us, that we may very well meet him along life's way.  That promise can be both comforting and disconcerting.  If Jesus lives, that alone changes everything.  That alone ought to be enough to disrupt and forever change the way we live our lives.  If Jesus were to show up and make himself know, that surely, would take our lives in directions we never imagined.

This message was offered for Palm Sunday while our in-person services remain suspended.  It reflects on Jesus' unique ascension to the throne.  He is king, yet he comes to his place of authority by way of a cross and a tomb.  He is not the sort of king we may have expected, but he is the exactly the sort of king we needed.  He is one that not only rules, but saves.

The coming of God's Kingdom is always accompanied by some level of disruption.  When God's rule comes to bear in ways and places it had not been brought to bear before, the status quo will be overturned.  At this present moment we are already experienced a rather large amount of disruption.  There is no question that what had been the status quo has been overturned.  While this is distressing and stressful, it is also an opportunity to invite the Kingdom to draw nearer still. During this period of chaos, why not invite God to reorder our lives further still, that even when this crisis is ended we might more fully live as citizens of God's kingdom.

This message comes from our first week of our worshiping apart due to the coronavirus outbreak and suspension of services.  It was delivered to the congregation via Youtube.  The message is a reflection on the great commandment and the second which is like it.  Specifically, Jesus commands us to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Even during this season of isolation and quarantine the commandment remains, and we would do well to consider how our love is made manifest in our lives.  The scripture readings are pulled from video recorded by members and friends of the congregation for inclusion in the Youtube podcast.

Jesus has a way of making us see the heart of the matter, even when doing so is uncomfortable.  In today's lesson a man's asks what he must do to inherit eternal life.  After Jesus first response, the man is rather sure of himself but Jesus pushes further and deeper.  By the end of this exchange the man is filled with grief.  Jesus had exposed his need for grace.  When we take them seriously, Jesus' words and life do the same for us.  We cannot escape the truth that the love meant for God and neighbor is often misplaced and misguided. We all need grace. Thankfully, God offers it freely and in abundance.

This message is from Transfiguration Sunday on which we remember the experience of Peter, James, and John.  On a mountaintop they witness a foretaste of the risen and glorified Christ.  Peter, at least, would have liked to linger there but it was not yet time for that.  Work remained and that worked was down in the valley.  Likewise our lives are not meant to be a succession of mountain top experiences.  Our lives include them, but the work which is our as disciples takes place in the valley of life, among the hurting and the suffering.  A day will come for us to linger in the presence of the risen and glorified Christ, but that day has not yet come.  First we must follow Christ through the valley and to the cross.

In today's reading Jesus is confronted regarding the ritual washing of hands.  His accusers no doubt sought to discredit him in public.  In classic form, however, Jesus takes his accusation and turns it around.  He not only deflects the attack but uses it as an opportunity to lead us to a deeper truth.  That truth being that God is far more concerned about what's in our hearts than God is concerned with what's on our hands.

We have all experienced failure in our lives.  In our text today we hear three tales of failure, yet the failure does not belong to the person we might expect.  In each case there is a failure to listen, a failure to hear.  We find in each more than a failure, but a refusal to hear a word that challenges assumptions and perspectives.  As Christians we must be open to the word that challenges.  God's word often challenges us.  That is how we learn, that is how we are transformed.  Even those convictions we hold ardently should be examined.  Arrogance leaves little room for growth.

In today's text, Jesus is interrupted as he travels from one point to the other.  In the end, however, it seems that this interruption was at the heart of the entire text.  Sometimes we too are overly focused on the reaching the end of our journey.  We are preoccupied with questions about what will happen when we arrive there.  Those questions are important, but we ought not to be so focused on such things that we fail to seek a holy encounter along the way.  Such encounters make us new and grant us assurance that we are made whole and counted among God's people.  Such encounters remind us that the end of the journey will be just fine, but Lord has accompanied us the entire time.